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More Slaps in the Face with Obamacare
The other day I wrote about my experience with Obamacare, where my daughter’s doctor asked a series of invasive questions and presented me with additional paperwork. Yesterday, I learned of yet another surprise, namely, a new $63-per-head fee to absorb the cost of covering people under Obamacare with pre-existing conditions. The cost for this hidden regulation is estimated to be tens of millions of dollars, with the largest companies bearing the burden. These companies will no doubt pass these costs down to employees and consumers.
The Administration maintains that the tax is temporary. They say that it will be assessed for three years starting in 2014, raising approximately $25 billion. The tax starts at $63-per-head and then decreases. That’s what the Administration says, but since when is a tax temporary? Once we start paying, it will never stop. The insidious part of this latest surprise is that the money will be put into a “kitty” administered by the Health and Human Services Department. The Administration claims that the money will be used to cushion health insurance companies from the initial, hard-to-predict costs of covering uninsured people with medical problems. Under the law, insurers will be forbidden from turning away the sick as of January 1, 2014. We thought the lines at the emergency rooms were long now — I predict much longer lines after 2014. As I noted the other day, our doctors are gathering personal information that will eventually end up in a government database to be used for who knows what. Now, they are assessing additional taxes to fund unpredictable expenses. It is, in other words, HHS’s rainy day fund. We have all seen the very long list of taxes, fees, and penalties included in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Some of those assessments are still a surprise. This latest hidden regulation is just another example of the blatant greed that comes with a mandate of this magnitude. Theoretically, I get it. The law passed, the Supreme Court agreed, Mitt Romney lost, and this is our reality.
But … I am just not ready.
Face-slap image via Shutterstock.
Published in General
As Nancy Pelosi said, we had to pass it to find out what was in it.
I sure hope all those that voted for this administration are happy now.
I sure hope all those that voted for this administration are happy now. ·1 minute ago
Apparently not!
I sure hope all those that voted for this administration are happy now. ·1 minute ago
Apparently not!
I believe the word I am looking for is schadenfreude.
I keep thinking they will notice, BUT most likely the hard truth will hit only those of us who already knew!
That’s great! When my wife had cancer a few years ago it would have been nice to get into the American system (I had a green card), because the Canadian system (due to centralized planning and high cost of treatment) didn’t have as many treatment options — including one that might have saved her life. I was told that it was ruled out by the provider; it would have been very expensive to undergo, but as it was it was simply illegal in Canada, but available in the U.S.
Just think — with a preexisting conditions waiver we could have gotten her into the U.S. system and you patsies could have paid for her expensive meds. Well done suckers. All the more incentive for immigration: create a magnet to attract those prospective immigrants with the most expensive medical conditions. The more expensive the condition to treat, the stronger the draw. Gives a whole new meaning to the famous lines
Exactly. It may have sounded great to many in theory, but in practice, they will not like it. And I think many will be surprised about the unpleasant aspects of Obamacare: higher premiums; more hidden fees and taxes; and longer wait times to name a few..
I sure hope all those that voted for this administration are happy now. ·1 hour ago
I sure hope all those that voted for this administration are happy now. ·1 minute ago
Apparently not!
I think they will notice once the middle class is inconvenienced. The Limousine Liberals can afford to have private insurance or see private physicians, but the middle class will be squeezed. Middle class and hard working Americans are always the ones who suffer under these misguided liberal policies.
Just look at the public schools in America. Who opposes school choice? -Limousine Liberals! School choice gives kids in poor performing schools a chance. Not so say the Libs – let them stay there and suffer!
I sure hope all those that voted for this administration are happy now. ·1 hour ago
Echoing AnnaS at #4, what really worries me is that the people who were dumb enough to believe in the free-lunch-that-is-Obamacare and were dumb enough to reelect Obama, will not even make the causal connection between higher fees / premiums and Obamacare. They will surely find something else to blame it on.
Just think — with a preexisting conditions waiver we could have gotten her into the U.S. system and you patsies could have paid for her expensive meds. Well done suckers. All the more incentive for immigration: create a magnet to attract those prospective immigrants with the most expensive medical conditions. The more expensive the condition to treat, the stronger the draw. Gives a whole new meaning to the famous lines
That sounds gut wrenching. To your point, we will bankrupt ourselves and policies will naturally change. Rationing and central planning come to mind along with increasing this (not exactly temporary) temporary tax.
Quite true Paul! With this crowd, everything seems to be someone else’s fault and I have no doubt the insurance companies or some other “evil” entity other than big goverment will be blamed
I sure hope all those that voted for this administration are happy now. ·1 hour ago
Echoing AnnaS at #4, what really worries me is that the people who were dumb enough to believe in the free-lunch-that-is-Obamacare and were dumb enough to reelect Obama, will not even make the causal connection between higher fees / premiums and Obamacare. They will surely find something elseto blame it on. ·7 minutes ago
Until all the insurance companies go out of business, and they’re left with only ObamaCare and it’s bureaucrats to blame.
Will be interesting to see who they come up with as Emmanuel Goldstein then.
I can’t speak to the collection of demographics specifically, but what I have observed is a really strange tendency in the past few years of doctors looking at the checked boxes on those forms and throwing out all sorts of diagnoses without even doing an examination. I had to argue with my eye doctor about that when she kept making all sorts of assumptions when an actual examination would make all the talk unnecessary. It scares me to think what might go on if I didn’t argue about it.
To me, this directly affects the amount of time a doctor will spend with his/her patient. With Obamacare, it’s more paperwork and less quality time talking to sick people – instead doctors be will referring to the “checked boxes” and being beholden to the gov’t.
Good luck, America.
The fantasy of “free medical care” is about to be seen. Here in Canada, we pay taxes, plus in Ontario, the govt. takes another $1,000 per employee for health care. Now Americans think that includes drugs, no. Birth control? No. Hearing aids? Physio? No. We could go on all day. You would be surprised by what we do not get.
My son had an operation with a six inch cut down his spine to remove a large cyst. Took 9 months to get the op. Hospital was dirty, blanket dirty, no sheets. He had to leave 2hours after his operation. I paid for his bandages, drugs and the nurse who he had to see every day to repack his wound.
Free health care is like going to your govt. vehicle licence place. Those people helping you can be nice, but let’s be honest, they are more interested in getting back to their other conversation. There is no incentive to update old equipment. How much incentive is there to cure patients?
I now see the health care system as a mechanic shop. It ain’t fancy.
The fantasy of “free medical care” is about to be seen. Here in Canada, we pay taxes, plus in Ontario, the govt. takes another $1,000 per employee for health care. Now Americans think that includes drugs, no. Birth control? No. Hearing aids? Physio? No. We could go on all day. You would be surprised by what we do not get.
My son had an operation with a six inch cut down his spine to remove a large cyst. Took 9 months to get the op. Hospital was dirty, blanket dirty, no sheets. He had to leave 2hours after his operation. I paid for his bandages, drugs and the nurse who he had to see every day to repack his wound.
Free health care is like going to your govt. vehicle licence place. Those people helping you can be nice, but let’s be honest, they are more interested in getting back to their other conversation. There is no incentive to update old equipment. How much incentive is there to cure patients?
I now see the health care system as a mechanic shop. It ain’t fancy. ·30 minutes ago
Indaba: Thank you for that dose of reality My mother is Canadian and I know all about “OHIP” and it is something I have never envied.
You are right – I think Americans are going to get a cold slap in the face when they realize that nothing is “free,” especially the Sandra Fluke-types who want the gov’t to pay for their birth control.
My husband entered a cardiac ICU early Monday morning. Congestive heart failure. Yesterday, the “head of cardiac electrophysiology” (what?) told us that Joe needs a defibrillator/pacemaker. And, “I recommend that you have the surgery before Jan. 3. You will save a lot of money on the device.”
I stopped him. “What? I thought everything was going to be better with Obamacare and we’d get a free phone.” (joking)
He hesitated. “We all thought it was going to be better but we’re reading the law now and it doesn’t look so good.” (not joking)
From Sunday night, in the emergency room, until last night when my husband was released (to return next week for said bargain-priced device), I asked 15 medical workers (2 doctors, 7 nurses, 3 lab techs, 1 X-ray tech, 1 patient advocate and 1 pharmaceutical rep) “are things going to get better or worse with Obamacare? All but one nurse answered with some variation of “Are you kidding? This is a disaster.” The one nurse said “I’m gonna get my nurse practitioners license and move up the ladder…lots of the doctors are quitting.”
How’s this for a timely report?
I sure hope all those that voted for this administration are happy now. ·1 hour ago
In theory and in practice, this bill reduces options rather than expanding them. If the idea was to expand anything, it was to expand governmental control over one of the most personal aspects of our lives. For the “get your laws off my body” crowd, I have to smile sadly. They will have more and more laws on their body than ever before and it will dictate not only the type of services and medications they will receive, but also how they will live their day to day lives.
As a medical professional, I know all too well the ramifications of this bill. It is difficult to uphold the Oath with practioners’ hands tied.
Babci: VERY timely. And a sobering reality check…